Data collection improves our lives immensely. When used ethically, it can improve services, contribute to meaningful scientific research, or simply make decision-making a lot easier.
Nevertheless, many companies and malicious actors collect your information without consent. Worst of all, they often use it for ill purposes. This pervasive data gathering is what’s known as unsolicited data collection – a term that holds profound implications for our online privacy and security.
So, let’s look at the main dangers of unsolicited data collection. Furthermore, we’ll reveal who gathers information about you and what they use it for. Lastly, you’ll find helpful tools that can safeguard you and your data in the digital world.
Risks of unsolicited data gathering
While it may not seem like a big deal, information collection without consent can be very dangerous. Exposed sensitive data can lead to identity theft and fraud. Malicious actors can steal your financial details, social security numbers, phone numbers, passwords, and so on. That can indeed lead to legal issues, financial problems, or damaged credit scores.
Not to mention, companies and data brokers track your every move, even your online behaviour, preferences, or personally identifiable information. This is then often used to fuel targeted advertising and user profiling. So, you’ll get highly targeted and potentially manipulative ads or content to influence your behaviour and decisions.
Lastly, such gathering of information invades privacy. You have little to no control over what information is collected. Additionally, there is no transparency over what information is usually gathered. On top of that, the info is generally stored in questionable databases that can be breached by malicious actors.
Who gathers your data without consent?
Basically, all the crumbs of information you leave in the digital landscape get collected by various parties. Some of them might use the data to improve their services, while others might use it to make a profit at your expense:
- Third-party trackers. These are usually cookies, tracking pixels, or scripts from various platforms and services. They can collect data on user behaviour without explicit consent.
- Data brokers. Some people or companies specialize in collecting and selling consumer data. They compile information from various sources, often without direct user consent. Plus, data brokers sell the data to other businesses for multiple purposes, such as targeted advertising.
- Apps and software. Various shady applications often collect info without explicit user consent. This might include data on usage patterns, location information, or device identifiers. This is mainly done for purposes beyond the immediate functionality of the app.
- Social media platforms. These companies frequently gather extensive user data for advertising and analytics purposes. Although users agree to terms of service, the level of data collection and its implications might not always be fully understood.
If you want to know what information most popular websites collect, you can find it in their Terms of Services. However, none of us have the time to go through hundreds of pages. Luckily, you can find shorter versions of ToS on the handy tosdr.org.
Tools to prevent data collection online
No matter how careful you are, you’ll need additional tools to prevent tracking & data collection. Your first line of defense should be an ad blocker. A reliable service, such as Total Adblock, can stop tracking scripts or pixels embedded in ads from running. That way, you’ll limit some types of online data gathering, for instance, JavaScript-based tracking.
Furthermore, A VPN is another excellent tool to enhance your online privacy. It creates a secure tunnel between your devices and the internet. Hence, virtually no one can see what you are up to online. Plus, it will change your IP address and location, making you even harder to track.
Lastly, in your arsenal of privacy-protecting methods, you should use an antivirus. It eliminates any malicious software or files that may secretly collect your data. By identifying and removing these threats, antivirus helps prevent unauthorized access to your data. Moreover, some advanced antivirus software might encrypt folders and data, making it harder for anyone to access.
